West Texas’ Premier Entertainment Venue!

The Cactus Theater is considered by many to be their main source of live entertainment in West Texas! Located on Buddy Holly Avenue, just off I-27 and 19th Street, the Cactus is just one of the great entertainment possibilities in Lubbock’s Depot District.

The Cactus Theater was originally constructed in 1938 as a “second run” motion picture theater. It had a twenty-year run as a movie theater when television and six new “drive-ins” drove the theater out of business in 1958.

When Don Caldwell organized the Cactus with a group of area investors, he was interested in bringing a new venue for entertainment to the Depot District. He has met that goal and accomplished so much more! After purchasing the theater, which retained its balcony, sloped floor, and stage, the group restored the Cactus to be a live performance theater. The old projection booth was redesigned to hold spotlights and a state of the art sound and light package was added. Approximately 400 modern seats were installed and a modern concession stand and restrooms were built in the lobby. The finishing touch was a beautiful wrap-around mural depicting a caprock canyon, painted by artist John Russell Thomasson.

Since the reopening of the Cactus Theater, audiences from Lubbock and the surrounding area have enjoyed live music productions such as: Nostalgia Nites, The Cactus Family Christmas Celebration, The JD’s (a self-proclaimed “doo wop phenomenon”), a concert series showcasing America’s Legendary Big Bands and Texas Music Legends (with stars Joe Ely, BJ Thomas, Gary Morris, Jerry Jeff Walker, and the Maines Brothers, just to name a few), Girls’ Nite Out, and many more. The Cactus has also presented live theater plays and musicals such as “Fiddler on the Roof”, “The Odd Couple”, “Steel Magnolias”, “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story”, “Always…Patsy Cline”, and “Honky Tonk Angels.”. The Cactus has also debuted several original, locally written musical plays, including “Heavenly Country” and “Holy Rock ‘n Rollers” which maintain sell-out crowds.

Lubbock’s Cactus Theater promises many more exciting and entertaining productions featuring the finest talent from West Texas. There is indeed something for everyone at the Cactus!